A few years later, we decided to travel fulltime. We’re glad we didn’t make the big move to Port Townsend because we surely wouldn’t have left a new home to travel. But we still harbor a fondness for Port Townsend and stop there almost every year en route to our summers on Lopez Island. Each time, we find the town just as appealing as we did the first time around.
A Gem Of A Town
Port Townsend is a gem. But not an overly polished gem, which suits us just fine. Positioned at the northeastern tip of the Olympic Peninsula, the location is idyllic, with expansive views of protected waters and distant snow-capped mountains.
View from the waterfront on a busy day
Port Townsend experienced a building boom in the late 1880s when the idea of connecting the town to the transcontinental railroad was hatched. Many believed that the town was destined to become a major shipping port on the west coast, akin to San Francisco.
Elaborate Victorian homes, mercantile establishments, and enormous brick waterfront warehouses sprung up to meet the anticipated demand. But only a decade later, the dream evaporated when the railroad stopped short in Tacoma.
People moved away, grand buildings and warehouses sat empty, and Port Townsend was essentially frozen in time. When historic preservation became popular in the 1970s, new life was breathed into the town. Walking and biking around Port Townsend feels like being transported back in time to a prosperous and bustling Victorian seaport.
Wonderful old brick buildings with original signage, circa late 1800’s
Every Building Tells A Story
The Downtown Waterfront District was once the rough and rowdy area of Victorian Port Townsend—shanghaiing men and pressing them into service on a merchant ship was common practice. The town is much tamer today, although still colorful. Unique independent shops, galleries, boutique hotels, and cafés occupy 1880s-era saloons, rooming houses, brothels, and warehouses. On the hill, in the swanky Uptown District, grand old Victorian homes and churches predominate.
There’s no end to historical buildings in Port Townsend; this is the Uptown District
A Victorian beauty, well preserved in the Uptown District
The Superb Port Townsend Farmers’ Market
We plan our visits to coincide with the weekly farmers’ market. Port Townsend is a small town, but the farmers’ market is superb. Local, organic, creative, delicious—it rivals any market we’ve found anywhere. There’s a tiny market on Wednesdays, but the Saturday market is the one you want to go to.
Enormous organic lettuce bouquets at the Port Townsend farmers’ market
Delicious cheeses from Mt. Townsend Creamery; we bought the truffled chevre. Wow.
Happy to be finding local fresh and smoked salmon
Cape Cleare is some of the best salmon we’ve ever had
Seafood paella with local mussels; a divine combination
Exploring By Foot And Bike
Our favorite thing to do in Port Townsend is to bike and walk, exploring neighborhoods in both the Uptown and Downtown Districts. Everything is easily walkable, and there’s an appealing artistic flair to the entire town. Still strongly tied to its maritime beginnings, Port Townsend is known as the wooden boat mecca of the northwest. The town hosts one of the largest wooden boat festivals in the world each September. It’s a blast—if we weren’t headed elsewhere, we would return for the festival. Maybe next year.
Colorful sailboats in the marina
Biking along Port Townsend’s waterfront
A neighborhood farm stand
Lunch at Owl Sprit Café; local and delicious offerings (Yes, it is sprit, not spirit).
An evening at the Rose Theatre; cozy seating, movies, and cocktails. But get there early or you’ll end up in the front row with a crick in your neck, despite the cushy sofas.
A Delightful Cidery In Chimacum
Along with visiting our favorite spots in Port Townsend, we always look for something new. This time, we discovered Finnriver Cidery. Located in nearby Chimacum, they produce delicious hard ciders and fruit wines from their own organic apples and other local organic fruits. It’s going on our list of Port Townsend area favorites. Next time, we’ll plan to be there on a weekend, when local food trucks and musicians show up.
Finnriver Cidery
Cider tasting; lots of fun and really yummy
About The Campground
Our favorite place to stay in Port Townsend is Fort Worden State Park. There are two separate campgrounds, one in the forest, and one on the beach. We like both (the forest campground is more private, the beach has views). Make your reservations early; this place is popular. There was one site left when I made our reservations in January for the end of June (no surprise, it was just before the holiday weekend).
Although we had a site staked out in the middle of a field in the beach campground, it was spacious and quiet, with the beach just over the dunes. If I had a choice, I’d choose one of the sites on the perimeter that backs up to the trees for more privacy (not on the beachfront, this can be a windy place). The beach campground has full hookups and decent Verizon coverage. It’s the best choice if you have a big rig. Fort Worden is just a couple of miles from town.
Beach campground at Fort Worden; that’s what I call a spacious site. Fortunately, it wasn’t windy while we were there.
On To Edison-Bow: Our Favorite Little Foodie Paradise
We decided a few years ago that we would much rather take what appears to be a slower, roundabout route to Lopez Island than deal with the traffic in the Seattle-Tacoma area. Port Townsend fits in perfectly with this plan.
Leaving Port Townsend, we take a small ferry to Whidbey Island and drive up the island to Anacortes, where we catch the ferry to the San Juan Islands. But first, we can never resist a couple of days near the tiny hamlet of Edison-Bow. It’s a haven for small farms and local delights, Pacific Northwestern style.
Biking to Edison on peaceful country roads
Fireweed and the Cascade Mountains
Downtown Edison; it’s about two blocks long
The Breadfarm Bakery is an essential stop
The cocoa nib cookies are irresistible. So are the hazelnut espresso. And the coconut shortbread.
Stopping for breakfast at the Rhody Café in Bow, Washington
Samish Bay Cheese has a wonderful assortment of handcrafted cheeses
The Farm-to-Market Bakery in Bow is another essential stop
A lime-soaked polenta cake came home with us, served with berries and sour cream
Sweet little farmers’ market in Edison
The very picturesque Bow Hill Blueberry Farm
Such a great stop; fresh blueberries and all kinds of handcrafted blueberry deliciousness. And a kitty.
About The Campground
We always stay at Bay View State Park, just a six-mile bike ride from Edison. It’s generally a peaceful park, especially in the front RV section. This time, we ended up in a different area, next to a big center field. This is where parents turn their kids loose to run wild and free. Particularly on the Fourth of July weekend, which also happened to be Canada Day weekend. My first thought was, “Oh, no way am I staying here. Let’s get on the ferry to Lopez!” But then we couldn’t help but laugh at the circus passing by our site. Fortunately, it quieted down at night.
We still like Bay View State Park. But we probably won’t go back on a holiday or summer weekend. A few RV sites have full hookups (in the section where we usually stay, sites 1-9). Other sites just have water/electric, and they’re not suitable for big rigs. Verizon coverage is good.
We’re squished into the corner of the curve next to the free-for-all-playfield. This little guy has apparently just been released from prison.
The speedway at Bay View Campground, right in front of our site. The show went on for hours.
Sunset at Bay View Campground
Beautiful photos. How I envy you so.
Thank you, Christine. We feel very fortunate, for many reasons. I’m glad you like the photos.
Thanks so much for all the campground information. My fingers are permanently crossed that “some day” we’ll be able to get away from the East Coast and use it. Your wonderful pictures make both spots look very attractive. But where is the picture of the blueberries? I have to decide if I could give up picking Maine berries off the mountains in Acadia for even one year to try those in Washington. Salmon – Lobster? It’s a terrible choice. :-)
Sherry, I hope you’ll put the campground info to good use! Both Port Townsend and Edison-Bow are well worth visiting. We were at the blueberry farm at the beginning of July, about two weeks too early for picking. We bought blueberry chutney and frozen blueberries instead. So delicious!
Thanks for the memories! Viki and I stayed in a B&B (former German Consulate, I think) in 1983, which got us fantasizing about moving there. Since then, I have camped at Fort Worden a few times over the years (always on the beach side) – loved it. And, Viki stayed in Officer Housing with her women’s hiking group – also loved it. A Port Townsend visit is always on “the list”. Thanks again!
Dick, those are great memories, indeed! So you understand why we feel the draw to move there, despite how much we love Ashland.
Thank you for sharing. Great write up and photos of an area we want to experience in our motor home.
You’re welcome, Debra. I hope you’ll enjoy the area as much as we do. Be sure to make reservations early in the year!
Really enjoying all your locations and pictures…done very nicely! We just came back from a 30 day trip within the eastern sierras with our class A RV & Jeep. Hiked about 42 miles, Jeeped just over 1,011 miles…. 15% on highway. Began at Owens lake and up to Upper Twin Lakes above Bridgeport
off and on HWY 395.
Love Port Townsend. Looks like you got it on a sunny day.
Lydia, we seem to have good luck in Port Townsend. We’ve probably been a dozen times, and the weather is always good. It’s often foggy in the morning, but clears off and is gorgeous. :-)
That sounds like a great trip, Bob, and quite an adventure! Highway 395 is one of our favorites, too.
I have never heard of Port Townsend before, but what a great looking place to add to our west coast list. It’s so good to know someone saw the value in these little abandoned towns and went to work preserving, restoring, and maintaining them. They have so much character! Speaking of which, I’ve been to some pretty cool farmers markets, but I have yet to see anyone cooking up incredible looking paella in a parking lot. That is awesome! I laughed at your campground description. We’ve been stuck in overcrowded commercial campgrounds all summer long. We cannot WAIT to get back to our quiet state parks in the woods. It’s gonna be GLORIOUS!!!
Laura, Port Townsend is a wonderful town! Because it was off the beaten path and didn’t have much going on economically, it was overlooked for a long time. It’s one of the best preserved Victorian seaports in the country and is truly beautiful.
I don’t know if there’s any campground anywhere that’s peaceful on a major holiday weekend. We sure picked an interesting spot, right at the intersection of the Fourth of July and Canada Day. Wild times! I’m grateful for our peaceful summer home on Lopez Island.
Fort Worden is a favorite of ours. The food you found looks fabulous especially the paella and lemon polenta. I agree with your plan to avoid the cities. It is the perfect time to be in that area.
Debbie, we are really happy with our summers in the PNW. It’s hard to think about going anywhere else! The paella and the lime polenta cake were delicious. :-))
Port Townsend looked just lovely, that weekend campground, not so much!
Sue, Port Townsend is one of the loveliest towns we’ve found in all of our travels.
We rarely have a campground experience like we had on the Fourth of July weekend at Bay View….it was actually hilarious watching the kids (wouldn’t have been funny if they hadn’t quieted down at night, though!).
While we only spent a day in Port Townsend, we enjoyed it immensely. Your love for the area comes through in your narrative. So beautifully written:) I’m sorry we missed the farmers market. I could use a little of that cool sea breeze right now:)
Thanks, Pam. I’m so glad you experienced the Olympic Peninsula (including Port Townsend). Wish we could have explored the town together!
You would love that farmers’ market. It’s like a mini version of Portland’s market. Here’s wishing cool breezes come your way soon! (But not without rain to put out the fires!)
Thanks for taking me back to one of my favorite small towns on earth, Port Townsend!
Edison Bow looks equally sweet, but I can easily commiserate with your campground experience having just spent time at OR beach state parks during the summer…
Lisa, I remember how much you enjoyed Port Townsend. It’s still on the list for when we settle down one of these years. I’ve decided I’ll take gray, cool winters over the blazing hot, smoky summers that seem to be plaguing so much of the west in recent years.
You would enjoy Edison-Bow. So much fun to bike to breakfast!
We stopped at the cidery on the one afternoon they were closed unexpectedly :-(( Glad it’s as good as it looks. Pt Townsend is my favorite walking town, there’s always so much to see and hear. Edison-Bow is enchanting. That polenta cake makes my mouth water!
I’d rather have noisy kids during the day than noisy adults at night :-))). Looks like you had quite the playground though!
Oh, bummer that the cidery was closed! It’s worth a return trip, Jodee. :-)) As if you need a reason to return to Port Townsend, right?
I agree with you — I’ll take noisy kids during the day over noisy adults at night! We were surprised that they quieted down at night. I think they wore themselves out during the day doing laps around the field, haha!
Yep, so far Port Townsend and the surrounding area has been our favorite place on our fulltime journey. We are planning on returning there next summer. Edison-Bow sounds delicious! We’ll definitely need to check it out.
Oh, that’s cool that PT and the surrounding area is your favorite spot so far in your travels! Maybe we’ll be neighbors someday. :-)) Don’t miss Edison-Bow, Henry. You and Loretta will really enjoy it. Be sure to arrive hungry.
At first I couldn’t wait to get away from the PNW and see the rest of the country, but now, I am so homesick reading your blog and seeing your beautiful photos. I am really looking forward to getting back there next year.
Aww, thanks Linda. I totally get it — as much as we love our travels just about everywhere we go, there’s no place like the PNW. We still have many places we want to travel, but it’s really hard to tear ourselves away from here, especially in the summer.
We too love Port Townsend and could certainly see ourselves living there. We have some friends who did settle there after many years on the road. They are loving it! Wish we had had the opportunity to meet up in Glacier NP. It certainly was not the summer to visit there. We are planning to stay up in the mountains of Colorado in an airbnb, hiking in the Rockies for the next week, then make our way down to Denver for a family gathering. Looking forward to hearing about your adventures on Vancouver Island.
LuAnn, we’re really bummed that we’re not meeting up with you two in Glacier this month. But the smoke and fires kept us all away. :-( Your time in the Rockies sounds wonderful — we’re loving our adventures on Vancouver Island! (Except for not having reliable internet.) We’ll catch up with you somewhere soon! Keep PT on the list for the future.
This was like a blast from the past. We seem to have visited the same lavender farms and the U-pick berry farm. I seem to recall Terry eating as many berries in the field as he picked. :)
LuAnn, I think we learned about Graymarsh Farm from you. The strawberries we picked were delicious! Wish blueberries had been in season. In past years when we’ve gone to the Lavender Festival we’ve visited several lavender farms, but this time we only went to Purple Haze, which is our perennial favorite. They’re all beautiful, though!
I love Port Townsend. Must put that on our list of places to go next year. Morey has yet to go there. Need to get planning and making reservations.
Brenda, as I’m sure you know, Ft. Worden fills up fast in the summertime. September is a beautiful time to be there, too — but you still need to make reservations early, especially if you’re planning to be there during the Wooden Boat Festival. I think a coast trip, leaving from Brookings, is in your future. :-)
The coconut shortbread and the lime soaked polenta are what I would be taking home with me. I’m sure they were yummy. If we go back to WA, PT should be on our route, your vivid photos are too inviting.
ML, I’d like to have some of that lime-soaked polenta cake right now! (Except I don’t need to eat goodies like that very often :-)) You and Steve would love Port Townsend.
Dear Laurel and Eric,
We have enjoyed reading about your adventures on the road. Looking forward to seeing where you end up for the winter. We love the photos and the tips on the best spots to check out.
Zorah & Wayne, it’s wonderful to hear from you two! So happy that our tips are helpful. We’re still deciding about winter — someplace warmer than Ashland, that’s for sure. :-) How about you?
So many beautiful places to see! We stayed at a campground in Coeur d’Alene, Id over the 4th. It’s on Spokane River with a large beach, tons of little campers and young families.
They were adorable to watch, and like someone else said, better noisey kids in the daytime than noisey adults at night. I was amazed at the technical strollers and bike carriers and the toys some of these kids have. One really small (5 years old?)girl had a tiny pink motorcycle, I guess battery operated, and zoomed around with another little girl as a passenger. Oh, I was so envious, I would love to have a little pink motorcycle right now.
Nancy, that is a hilarious story about the little girl with the tiny pink motorcycle! I think I’d want one, too! Sounds like you had a very similar experience in Coeur d’Alene to ours at Bayview in Edison. :-)